Two kinds of folk theater, puppet and shadow theater, were known from very early times in the East. There theaters were in existence all over the Eastern World, from the Far East to the Near East, and have survived to the present day in many places in Japan, China, India, Persia, Turkey and Arabia.
Only one kind of folk theater was known in Central Asia during the 19th and 20th centuries; specifically the puppet theater known as "kugirchok uein" ("kugirchok" means puppet and "uein" means "play" in Turkic language).
The two kinds of puppet theaters were "chadiry hayal" or theater of ghosts, which used marionettes and "dast kugirchok" or "kul-kugirchok", which used hand puppets.
Up until the revolution in 1920, all craftsmen of Central Asia, from blacksmiths to puppet actors, were joined in guilds, according to their craft.
Every Central Asia guild had its own statutes and ordinances in the form of written traditions, called "Risola", which contained instructions, mainly of divine origin, regarding prayers and rituals to be performed during work, as well as the production process itself.
According to legend, every guild had its origin from apocryphic Saints, prophets and even angels. The professions of actor and musician originated with the Angel Gavriel, who was the progenitor of the art of music which spread to others from him.
The puppet theater was united in a guild with musicians and other actors, whose aim was to amuse and entertain the crowds of people. The puppet actors appeared in all sorts of places, like festivals, shows, open - air parties, and in private family celebrations.

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By Andrey Karyakin, June 2002.